Category Archives: Democratic National Committee

Clinton’s victories last night in Ohio and Texas may give the impression that here in Pennsylvania the democratic primary will be critically important to securing that party’s presidential nomination.

Of course, all it really did was ensure that nobody’svote matters anymore. Neither candidate can secure enough pledged delegates to be the presumptive nominee at the convention, so it is all going to come down to the superdelegates.

According to this story at the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, this retired VP of the United Steelworkers of America is not only supporting Obama, but will also lobby his former union to endorse him as well. Lynch– and his union– were supporters of John Edwards. My PA tabulation here has been updated accordingly.

While this is bad anecdotal news for Ms. Clinton, it could be worse, as Mr. Lynch happens to be a black guy. So while Mr. Lynch is a union man, he may not be part of a distressing trend for her campaign. Obama’s recent winning streak has at least partly been due to the fact that white, male democrats have been breaking his way. If that trend continues here in the Commonwealth, she’s cooked.

There’s been some PA Democratic super-delegate shuffling, with Hillary adding a couple, losing one to undecided, and Obama adding one. In the end, though, Ms. Clinton still dominates the field 13 to 3. As always, this is the page with the running count for both the Democratic superdelegates, and the GOP delegation candidates.

The one Obama added was, according to the Inky, Philadelphia Councilwoman and DNC member Carole Ann Campbell. Here she is with Bill in happier times for the Clintons:

She chatted with Michelle Obama for about 90 minutes, and apparently agreed that nothing much has happened in America over the last twenty years inspiring pride of country. At least of this country.

Pennsylvania political guru and my rabbi on matters procedural, Terry Madonna, indirectly pointed out an article to me on how badly the Clinton campaign is scrambling here in Pennsylvania.

This piece indicates the recent petition extension by Ed Rendell had nothing to do with the weather and everything to do with the Clinton campaign’s incompetence.

Last week all primary petitions were due in Pennsylvania. The weather was iffy in spots, but I drive a hinky Saab with 120k miles on it with only one headlight, and I managed to get my petitions in on time.

The Clinton campaign, though, did not manage to get a full slate of their pledged delegate petitions in on time. Clinton supporter and Governor Ed Rendell gifted them a deadline extension, and they still ended up 10% short.

This does not affect the math any, as party rules indicate they will still get whatever is their due. Still…Clinton has staked her campaign on success in Texas, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. And this is the best they can muster? Was everyone huddling on how best to manufacture specious plagiarism charges on Obama?

In the PA GOP presidential primary, delegate candidates are not attached to anyone, and have to run around under their own steam to get necessary signatures for their petitions. Almost as many signatures as a representative in the General Assembly has to get!

The GOP overfiled by over 300% with over 190 delegates for 62 slots. Clinton underfiled– after an extension– by 10%.

To steal Terry’s quip, maybe Hillary could borrow some of the GOP’s delegates.

This is an update to my post re. Jason Rae, 21 year-old Democratic superdelegate in Wisconsin.

It appears Mr. Rae is allegedly gay. [ht The Outskirts] On the one hand, this would clearly make the Chelsea/pimping charge a little less compelling. On the other, it gives whole new context to the senate page assignment and his ensuing meteoric rise within the DNC!

Funny, isn’t it? His vote is worth the same as 10k Milwaukee Teamsters like this guy:

I wonder how they feel about that?

Mostly I kid. There are plenty of superdelegates that are part of the AFL-CIO, too. It would be interesting if someone did a demographic breakdown super-delegates as a whole, though…

It has been noted in a variety of places on the wild, woolly world wide webs that Obama wins states that are mostly black, and mostly white. Things become a bit of a crap-shoot for him when he deals with racially balanced states.

The thinking goes like this: In a place like South Carolina, the African American population acts like Democrat versions of Patrick Buchanan’s ‘angry citizens with pitchforks.’ In mostly white states, pale liberals all march in lockstep to vote for St. Barack to expiate their racial guilt.

In racially balanced states, though, whites have second thoughts about supporting the ‘black’ candidate, because of the “brothers and sisters are running the city” dynamic. This dynamic is in Hillary’s favor. She wants Obama to be portrayed as the ‘black’ candidate in comparatively racially balanced places like Pennsylvania, Texas, and Ohio.

Ed Rendell suggesting some white people just won’t vote for a black guy was not an example of Rendell’s alleged penchant for honesty. This was a Clinton supporter stoking the racial unrest that benefits his political patron.

As a counterattack, white former PA Lt. Governor Mark Singel is holding a press conference right now announcing his leap aboard the Obama bandwagon. It will be interesting to see if any Pennsylvania Democratic super-delegates decide to take this opportunity to take the leap with him.

Rush Limbaugh suggests these democratic superdelegates will be critical. Hillary’s “testicle lockbox” is large, and Clinton ore runs deep in the bedrock of the democratic establishment. A close delegate count, he says, and the fix will be in for Hillary. Ramesh Ponnuru, on the other hand, thinks it is GOP wishful thinking to imagine those super-delegates will intentionally bring about a controversial trainwreck.

Rush is usually right. Ramesh, though, does an admirable job of keeping his head and reining in enthusiastically galloping punditry. This blogger is not sure who to believe.

Thanks to the ever indispensable Josh at The Morning Call a full list of Pennsylvania’s democratic super-delegates can be found at a page accessed with a link above. Or here, if you’re lazy.

Also to appear there will be the names of all people running to be uncommitted delegates in the Pennsylvania GOP delegation. Remember, they are not legally bound in any way to vote for anyone in particular, and they have to be elected in the April primary. The deadline to hand in signatures to appear on the ballot was today. No biggie if you missed it. You can always run a write-in campaign if you want, which with a little effort you could conceivably win. I may go ahead and do that myself if my nominated delegate– Skip Brion– categorically refuses to consider a protest vote.

That presidential primary vote which will also appear on the ballot in April is just a meaningless distraction, remember.

In addition to the names of the people running, I will also post contact information if I can find it. After all, the average voter is allegedly supposed to know who these delegates support. So I might as well help y’all find out!